Dumping bucket



Feb. 5, 1935. E. LE R. HARRINGTON DUMPING BUCKET Filed July 29, 1933 3 She5-ts-Shee1'I l Feb. 5, 1935.

E.` LE R. HARRINGTCN DUMPING BUCKET Filed July 29, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Feh. 5, 1935. E, LE R, HARRlNGTQN 1,989,858

DUMPING BUCKET Filed July 29, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 VENTOR Patented Feb. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES DUMPING BUCKET Edward Le Boy Harrington, Pittsburgh, Pa., as-

signor to Blaw-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation ot New Jersey Application July 29, 1933, Serial N0. 682,763

7Claims.

This invention relates to dumping buckets and is particularly useful in connection with buckets of large size for the handling of concrete.

'I'he principal object of the invention is to providea dumping bucket in which the load of the bucket, when suspended, is utilized as the power for opening the gate.

A further object is to provide a bucket of the character described in which gravity will act to close the gate when the bucket is set down upon the ground and the lifting cable slackened away.

Another object is to provide a movable lifting member for a bucket of this type which is connected to the gate in such a way as will normally tend to open the gate while the bucket is suspended on the operating line, together with means which will function to prevent such opening movement until released by the operator.

Still another object oi the invention is to provide means for releasing the means which prevents the gate from opening while the bucket is suspended on the holding line, which means can be actuated either by hand or by a motor device of some kind.

I also aim to provide a bucket which is stronger and more durable than buckets heretofore in use, as well as more inexpensive to manufacture and repair.

The drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention suitable for the handling of concrete.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the bucket partly broken away to show certain details of the invention and with the gate in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a; view similar to Fig. 1 but with the gate in open position.

Fig. 3 is a plan View.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation taken at right angles to the showing in Figs. 1 and 2, also with portions broken away to still further clarify the details of the construction.

Fig. 5 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of a trigger mechanism used in my invention for the purpose of holding the gate in closed position against the iniluence of the suspended load.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 5.

Fig. 'l is a section on the line 7--7 of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4.

-The bucket includes a hopper or funnel-shaped member 9 the upper portion 10 of which is cylindrical.

At the bottom the hopper 9 is provided with a gravity discharge opening which is defined by the ring or collar member 11 having an arcuate bottom edge 12.

Surrounding the hopper portion 9 is an apronlike supporting framework 13 which extends sufnciently far below the bottom edge 12 of the hopper to hold the hopper clear of the ground and provide suflicient working clearance for the gate to be subsequently described.

The gate comprises an arcuate bottom member 14 carried by the two side arm members 15 which extend upwardly and outwardly to the pins 16 upon which they are pivoted so that the arcuate bottom portion 14 of the gate may be swung either into closed position underlying the edge 12 of the hopper as shown in Fig. 1, or to open position to the right of the collar 11 as shown in Fig. 2.

There are@ of course, two arms 15 and two pins 16 located at diametrically opposite points, the pins 16 being carried between the channels 17 on the inside of the apron and the brackets 18 secured to the lower anges of the channels 19 also carried by the apron and braced against the conical portion 9 by means of the angle plates 20.

Surrounding the upper cylindrical portion is a movable supporting member 21 in the shape of an annular channel which can move in a vertical or up and down direction between the stops 22 at the top and the stops 23 around the upper edge of the apron-like supporting structure 13. At suitable intervals the ring is connected by cables 24 to the supporting ring 25 through which latter may be passed the hook 26 of the operating cable. The operating cable, of course, is not illustrated, but it will be understood that it is connected to any suitable crane or other hoisting and transfer mechanism.

'I'he movable supporting member 21 is connected to the gate by means of the rods or bars 27 which are pivoted to the arms of the gate upon the pins 28 and to the brackets 29 on the ring 21 by means of the pins 30. The lower ends of the bars 27 are forked as at 3l in order to embrace the upper ends of the arms 15, as shown to best advantage in Fig. 4.

Upon inspection particularly of Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the pins 28 are located in ears 32 on the arms l5, so that the pins 28 are slightly to the right of the pins 16 as viewed in these gures. It will be seen, therefore, that when the ring 21 moves from its lower position shown in Fig. 1 to its upper position shown in Fig. 2, the gate 14 will be swung from the closed position of Fig. 1 to the open position of Fig. 2.

Normally, however, the gate 14 is held in its closed position by means of the trigger mechanism now to be described. This mechanism takes the form of a two-member toggle, one member 33 of which is pivoted at 34 to the bottom of the gate and the other member 35 of which is pivoted at 36 upon suitable supporting structure 38 carried by the apron. The adjacent ends of the two members of the toggle are articulated together at the point 39.

The supporting structure 38 includes a bottom channel 40 and two short I-beam sections 41 on the top of which latter rest the bearing blocks 42 which carry the pivot pin-36.

As will be seen from Figs. 5 and '1, the member 33 is formed to embrace the adjacent end of the member 35 and as shown in Fig. 6, the member 35 reacts against a bent plate43 carried on the upper iiange of the channel 40.

It will be understood, of course, that when the center of the pin 39 is below a line joining the centers of the pins 34 and 36, the gate 14 will be held in its closed position, In this position a latch 44 is provided which engages a suitable shoulder 45 on the under side of the member 35. The latch is pivoted on the pin 46 and is provided with a lower arm 47 spring-held toward the channel 40 by means of the tension spring 48 shown to best advantage in Fig. 6. The latch 44 serves to retain the parts in position to maintain the gate in closed position unless released by the mechanism now to be described. The lower end of the arm 47 of the latch is provided with a pulley 49 around which is passed an operating cable 50, one end of which is secured. to the hopper structure at the point 51 and the other end of which passes over another pulley 52 on the inside of the apron, to which latter end is secured a ring 53 which can be grasped by the operator or by means of a suitable pole or hook in the operators hands. By pulling upon the ring 53 the lower arm 47 of the latch will be raised so as to free the shoulder 45, and then the cam surface 54 on the latch will push against the roller 55 on the under side of the member 35 and force the latter upwardly suihciently far to bring the center of the pin 39 above the line which joins the centers of the pins 34 and 36. When this occurs it is obvious that the trigger member or toggle can assume the position indicated in Fig. 2, whereupon the gate 14 will be in its fully open position.

The operation' of the device is believed to be obvious from the foregoing description of the structure, but it might be summarized as follows: Assume that the bucket has been set down at the point where a loadof concrete is to be taken on. Slack is paid out on the hoisting line sufficiently to permit the ring or movable supporting member 21 to settle down to the lower stops 23 and push on the rods 27 until the gate is fully closed. When this occurs the parts of the trigger mechanism will occupy the position shown in Figs. 1, 5, 6 and 'l and the gate will be held in closed position even when the loaded bucket is lifted by the crane or other operating mechanism.

The bucket may now be transferred to the place where the concrete is to be dumped, whereupon the operator pulls upon the ring 53 in order to release the latch 44 and press the cam 54 against the roller 55 so as to raise the member 35 and bring the center of the pivot 39 above the line which joins the centers of the pivot pins 34 and 36. The weight of the bucket and its contents will then immediately open the gate so that the parts will assume the positions illustrated in Fig. 2, the bucket proper moving downwardly with relation to the supporting member.

It will be noted that the member 35 is provided with an interior slot 56 which provides a convenient means for attaching a power operating mechanism should such be desired.

1. A bucket having a hopper with a gravity discharge opening, an apron-like framework for supporting the bucket with the hopper clear of the ground, a gate movable within the apron to open and close said opening, lever means reacting between the gate and the apron normally tending to hold the gate in closed position, and movable means for lifting the bucket, said movable means being connected to the gate and adapted to open the gate upon release of the lever holding means, together with means for releasing said lever holding means while the bucket is suspended by said movable means.

2. In a dumping bucket, the combination of a frame structure, a container within said frame, said container having a discharge opening, a. gate for said opening, a movable supporting member, means connecting the gate with said movable member so that the weight of the load when the bucket is supported by s'aid member tends to open said gate, trigger means reacting between the frame and the gate adapted to hold the gate in closed position against said opening tendency, and means for tripping the trigger means so that the gate may be opened as described.

3. A dumping bucket comprising in combination, an inner container with a bottom discharge opening, a surrounding frame adapted to support the container clear of the ground, an arcuate gate controlling the discharge pivoted to swing in the space between the container and the frame, movable means for lifting the bucket which means normally tends to open the gate, a toggle reacting between the frame and the gate to hold the latter iin its closed position, and means for releasing the oggle.

4. A bucket comprising in combination, a hopper with a bottom discharge opening, an apronlike framework surrounding the hopper and adapted to support the bucket with the lower edge of the hopper clear of the ground, a swinging gate for controlling the discharge from said opening, a vertically movable lifting member, stop means on the bucket for limiting movement of said lifting member, connecting means between the gate and the lifting member adapted to open the gate when the bucket is lifted by said member, a toggle reacting between the gate and the framework adapted to hold the gate in closed position when the bucket is lifted by said lifting member, and means for moving said toggle so that the lifting means may move to swing the gate into open position.

5. A bucket structure having an opening for gravity discharge, a gate for said opening, means for lifting the bucket including a member which is mounted on the bucket so as to have vertical movement relative thereto, means for opening the gate when the bucket moves downwardly with respect to said member, said means including an operating connection between the gate and the member, a toggle reacting between the bucket structurev and the gate, which toggle normally holds the gate in its closed position, and means for tripping the toggle to permit opening movement of the gate as aforesaid.

6. A bucket structure having an opening for gravity discharge, a gate for said opening, means for lifting the bucket including a member which is mounted on the bucket so as to have vertical movement relative thereto, means for opening the gate when the bucket moves downwardly with respect to said member, said means including an operating connection between the gate and the member, means normally holding the gate in its closed position, and means for releasing said holding means to permit opening movement of the gate as aforesaid.

7. A bucket structure having an opening for holding means to permit opening movement of the gate as aforesaid, together with means for supporting the bucket on the ground with the gate clear of the ground whereby the gate may close under the inuence of gravity when the bucket is not being lifted by said movable member.

EDWARD LE ROY HARRINGTON. 

